The Forsaken Campaign
The Forsaken Campaign, also know as the Third Ankh-Argaiv War, The War of Blinding Fire and the Last War of Argiav/the Argiavan Empire, was a short-lived conflict between the empires of Argaiv and Ankh. Background Under Theocrat Arkrios I of Polastrathon, the states of Argaiv united into a pseudo-empire that was heavily controlled and centralised by the political elite at Polas on Mount Polastrathon. His successor, his son Arkrios II, set his sights upon the conquest of Ankh and the annexation of the Ankhosian Empire with the psuedo-unified Argaivan empire brought together by his father. Following several hundred years of sporadic skirmishes and brief periods of war between Argaiv and their historical rival Ankhos, Arkrios II aimed to commit the largest, most well-equipped army ever raised to overrun and annex the Empire of Ankh. Arkrios used his political, economic and military leverage, coupled with nationalistic and religious sentiment (and the promises of plundering Ankh) to acquire the manpower to fill his army and to supply them. In particular, he offered to break up the Ankhosian empire and to gift the administration of its various components to the families of the Archons. Whether or not Arkrios would have followed through on this was a heavily debated topic in Argaiv following the fall of his regime. Issues Arkrios was wary of gathering such a large force in one place. This partly stemmed from the fear that, being from previously independent Argaivan states, fighting would break out amongst themselves. He also feared a potential threat to his rule. As a result, Arkrios set about preparations long in advance of bringing his army together. Boats and some supplies were readied long before the army was assembled and, when the army was brought together, there was little time for professional training. As a result of the pre-provisioning of the army, Ankhos had significant forwarning to the invasion. They shored up their defences at Raqqos and Istar-Jadat and drafted a huge proportion of their population from across the empire. The War The Seige and Capture of Raqqos Despite being given several months to prepare, Ankhos failed to draft an army even half the size of Argiav's. The isle of Istar-Jadat was seen as too well defended and too small to operate as a practical, tacitcal consideration, even though it was geopgrahically superior as a staging post for invasion as half-way between The Sunshine Coast and Ankh. Instead, Argaiv committed all of its forces to Raqqos, a major Ankhosian city and long-disputed territory. Depsite the efforts of the large, well equipped garrison, Raqqos Fort fell relatively swiftly against the overwhelming size of the Argaivan army and fleet. The victory was also important in raising morale and, in the opinion of Arkrios, loyalty towards the regime and the campaign, particularly when so many had been, to all intents and purposes, drafted and then poorly trained prior to the invasion. The Failed Invasion at Tapte The next step of the invasion was to transport the army to the coast of Ankh. Commander Kaklia determined that the small medina of Tapte (which was located south of the islet of Isra) would be a suitable landing spot, providing both cover for ships and reasonable space to establish a foothold for their forces. Tapte was situated below a large defensive wall, however Kaklia summised that this would not pose an issue as Raqqos, which was far better fortified, fell so easily. However, upon landing and attempting to establish a base-camp, it became apparent the size of the Ankhosian forces at the wall at Tapte far exceeded that which they had encountered at Raqqos. Under constant, heavy barrage of arrows and projectile boulders, the Argaivan forces were soon forced to undertake a tactical retreat. The Invasion at Haship'Ptah At this stage, the Argivain fleet was still largely intact, despite heavy losses at Tapte. Kaklia took the decision to sail around the Red Coast to the medina of Haship'Ptah, the poorest medina of Ankh, as well as the least defended. Here they ransacked the sporadic settlements that made up the area and were able to establish a strong foothold, as there was both ample space to land their entire army and a lack of Ankhosian defences, which were concentrated further west around the heart of the city, in the medina of Ish Bethadar. Whilst Kaklia was concerned that landing so far east meant a lengthy and strongly opposed march westwards towards Ish Bethdar, which held the palace and major temples of Ankhos, he considered a far more viable alternative than landing at the topographically and militarily better defended medina of Tapte or Isra. WIP WIP WIP They proceed towards Ish Bethadar and then the Red Lord appears before the Emperor/lords/priests of Ankh and offers to defeat them. Proceeds to blast them away between Haship'Ptah and Ish Bethadar, along the pilgrims road. The coastline itself was relatively gentle and there was little natural topographical defense offered. Admiral Shadip providing a useful staging post between Argaiv and the Ankh coastline.